Sean Patrick Small does a fine job of capturing Larry Bird's curt grouchiness — mostly with the press — and we should credit veteran Hollywood hair stylist Darlene Brumfield for nailing the Celtics star's late-'70s/early-'80s look as well. He's downright surly at a press conference scene whereas Johnson is charming and personable, but while "Winning Time" sets that scene as happening before an NBA matchup, it actually mirrors the press conference before the two met for the NCAA title, according to The Wrap.
Bird, more worried about the game than coming across as likable to the media, gave grunted one-word answers to most questions. The French Lick, Indiana, native may not have cared much about wooing the national sports media, but he was a fierce competitor and put winning above most else. That's reflected pretty accurately in "Winning Time," but his rivalry with Johnson eventually became much friendlier and more respectful than it's shown in the series. This, as explained by NPR, was largely thanks to a Converse commercial the two superstars shot in the mid-'80s, a timeframe that has yet to be explored on "Winning Time."
Additionally, Bird got into plenty of scraps as a player, and that's also accurately portrayed on the show. Larry Legend earned his nickname with his success on the court, not his winning personality, and "Winning Time" does a good job highlighting that, though it remains to be seen if the series will showcase the other sides of Bird's character beyond his businesslike, almost abrasive tendencies when dealing with the media and on-court opponents.
